Struggling sales are forcing Sony Ericsson to continue job
cuts. Between now and the end of August 2010, the No. 4 ranking handset maker
will eliminate another 1,600 jobs from the 400 already laid off this year. Sony
Ericsson is consolidating operations, moving U.S.-based research and
development offices, and closing five other offices in the United States and
worldwide.
As part of a consolidation of offices and employees,
London-based Sony Ericsson is closing its current headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and many other locations in the United States and relocating its U.S. headquarters to Atlanta. These moves are meant to
streamline its global operations, reduce its work force by 2,000 employees and
save money, said reports from the Triangle Business Journal and Associated
Press.
Other Sony Ericsson offices to be affected by the closures
include Seattle; Miami; San Diego; Kista, Sweden; and Chennai, India. These cuts will be completed by
the third quarter of 2010. In April, Sony Ericsson made the announcement that it
planned to reduce its work force by 20 percent, keeping in line with similar
plans it made in 2008 to cut the same amount of jobs.
"About 400 jobs have been cut since then, and about
1,600 remain to meet that goal by the middle of next year," said the AP.
The company will move its research and development
facility from North Carolina to Redwood Shores, Calif., where it currently develops smartphones.
Redwood Shores is home to another major
technology player—Oracle. In North Carolina, the office closure affects 420
workers, and not every one is being offered new opportunities. The research and
development division in North Carolina has seen several hundred jobs
lost already in 2009, said the AP.
The Triangle Business Journal writes of the move to Atlanta:
"Karen
Morris, vice president of marketing for the North American region, said Atlanta was chosen for the headquarters
because of its proximity to major operations of AT&T,
one of the company’s largest customers and because of the international airport
connections available through Atlanta’s hub.
"The
consolidation comes a little more than a year after Sony Ericsson announced a
company-wide cost cutting plan that led to the loss of 2,000 jobs. Sony
Ericsson currently employs about 9,900 globally. Morris said the company will
have meetings with individual employees in the first quarter. Some will be
offered the opportunity to work in California or Atlanta. Those who are not will be
offered severance."
Sales for
the No. 4 handset maker in the third quarter were down by more than 40 percent,
said the AP.
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